Snap-in electrical receptacle for a panel



21, 1968 L. L. SHROYER 3,384,862

SNAP-IN ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLE FOR A PANEL Filed Aug. 11, 1966 4 ,ZQVENTOR LARK? L. SHHoPeR z; c/EFF'ERS VouNG- AWRWEQ s United States Patent 3,384,862 SNAP-IN ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLE FOR A PANEL Larry L. Shroyer, Kendallville, Ind., assignor to Lyall Electric, Inc., Albion, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed Aug. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 571,814 3 Claims. (Cl. 339-126) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A snap-in receptacle is provided with two triangular projections, each having one face that is long and sloped at a small angle and a second face that is short and sloped at a steep angle. These projections permit a rigid receptacle to be snapped into an opening in a panel.

The invention relates to a snap-in electrical receptacle for a panel, and particularly to such an electrical receptacle that is self-held in a panel aperture by a single snapin operation.

Numerous electrical appliances, such as refrigerators or stoves, require an electrical receptacle for receiving a light bulb or for providing further electrical connections. Generally, the appliances are constructed of thin panels of sheet metal on which the receptacle must be mounted. Such appliances are also generally mass-produced in large quantities, so that all of the parts or elements which go to make up the appliance should also be capable of being mass-produced. Thus, the electrical receptacle and its mounting should be capable of being mass-produced. Further, an electrical receptacle having an integral insulating and mounting structure is preferred because it is strong, reliable, and easily manufactured. Previously, electrical receptacles have required a flexible piece or member in order that the receptacle can be mounted it a panel aperture, or have required a second piece or member to mount the receptacle in the panel aperture. Such requirements make the electrical receptacle relatively difficult and relatively expensive to manufacture. And, such electrical receptacles may not be reliable because of their flexible piece or member, or because their second piece or member may become loose through vibration.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an improved electrical receptacle that can be easily manufactured and easily mounted in a panel aperture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a snapin type electrical receptacle that has an integral insulating and panel mounting structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical receptacle that is made of a single piece of relatively inflexible or rigid insulating material and that can be easily snapped into a panel aperture and reliably held.

In the manufacture of the appliance, the receptacle may not be added and wired until the appliance construction is complete. Therefore, it is frequently necessary or desirable that the receptacle be mounted and wired from one side of the panel without access to the other side of the panel.

Accordingly, another object of the invention is to provide an improved electrical receptacle that can be wired from one side of a panel and that can be snapped into the panel aperture from the same one side.

Briefly, these and other objects are achieved in accordance with the invention by a snap-in electrical receptacle that can be formed or molded as a single body or piece of relatively inflexible or rigid insulating material, such as a phenolic insulating material. The receptacle has an external aperture surface at its back end that is of the size and configuration that permits the receptacle to be inserted in a panel aperture with a small clearance. The receptacle is prevented from passing entirely through the panel aperture in the direction of insertion by a 3,384,862 Patented May 21, 1968 shoulder that surrounds all or part of the receptacle. Two integral snap-in projections are positioned on the aperture surface a short distance (corresponding to the panel thickness) ahead of the shoulder toward the back end. Each of these projections includes a relatively short incline rising (in a direction toward the back end) at a relatively large angle from the aperture surface near the shoulder, and a relatively long incline falling (also in a direction toward the back end) at a relatively small angle back to the aperture surface away from the shoulder. While these projections are integral with the receptacle and are relatively inflexible and rigid, they permit the receptacle to be easily snapped into the aperture from one side of the panel and reliably held between the shoulder and the two projections. At the front end, the receptacle may be provided with any sort of configuration such as a socket for a light bulb and terminals for electrical connections.

The invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a snap-in electrical receptacle in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a detailed side elevation of the shoulder and projection for mounting and holding the receptacle in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 3 shows a view of the back end of the receptacle of FIGURE 1 and the structure for providing electrical connections thereto; and

FIGURE 4 shows another embodiment of the receptacle in accordance with the invention for a right angle mounting.

FIGURE 1 shows a receptacle It) in accordance with the invention, this receptacle 10 being preferably made of a relatively hard, inflexible or rigid, and integral insulating material such as phenolic insulating material. The receptacle 10 of FIGURE 1 is a generally cylindricalshaped body, and is intended to be mounted on a panel 14 having a circular aperture 15. At the front end, the receptacle 10 has an outer cylindrical surface 11 'of a diameter larger than the diameter of the panel aperture 15. The outer surface 11 is broken by a shoulder 12 to provide an aperture surface 13 (at the back end) of a diameter that is small enough to permit the aperture surface 13 to pass through the aperture 15 with a small clearance. A key 16 may be provided on the receptacle 1%) for engagement in a correspondingly shaped keyway 17 positioned in the panel 14 at the edge of the aperture 15 to prevent the receptacle 10 from rotating. The increased diameter of the surface 11 provided at the shoulder 12 prevents the front end of the receptacle 10 from passing through the panel aperture 15.

In accordance with the invention, two similar projections 20, preferably positioned at diametrically opposite points, are provided on the aperture surface 13 toward the back end. In FIGURE 1, only one of the projections 2t) is visible. A detailed side elevational view of one of the projections 20 is shown in FIGURE 2. Each of these projections 20 comprises a relatively short front incline 21 which slopes outward toward the back from the aperture surface 13 at a relatively large angle, and a relatively long back incline 22 which slopes inward toward the back to the aperture surface 13 at a relatively small angle. The steep incline 21 begins or rises from the aperture surface 13 at a point spaced from the shoulder 12 toward the rear that is approximately equal to the thickness of the panel 14 in which the receptacle 10 is to be mounted. Thus, it will be seen that each of the projections 20 has a side profile that is triangular. The base of the triangle coincides with the aperture surface 13. The other two sides (21, 22) form respective acute angles with the base and form an obtuse angle with each other at the top or vertex. The front and back inclines 21, 22 are substantially plane surfaces that have a circumferential dimension or width (Le, a dimension perpendicular to the plane of FIGURE 2) of any suitable distance. From experience, it has been found that a circumferential width less than the base length of the projections 20 is convenient and suitable for most applications. FIGURE 2 also shows the angles and dimensions of one projection which has been built and satisfactorily used for holding a snap-in light bulb receptacle for a 1.250 inches diameter panel aperture in a panel approximately 0.035 inch thick. The aperture surface 13 has a diameter of 1.245 inches. Each of the projections 20 extend radially beyond the aperture surface approximately 0.010 to 0.015 inch. The over-all or base length (from front to back) of each projection is inch; the front incline 21 angle is 30 degrees; and the back incline 22 angle is 7 degrees. The projection 20 is spaced 0.035 inch to the rear of the shoulder 12. In this receptacle, the circumferential width of each projection 20 is approximately 33 inch, or slightly more or less than the projection base length of /32 1114311.

FIGURE 3 shows an end view of the back of the receptacle 10 of FIGURE 1. Two bosses or projections 30, 31 are provided on the back, these bosses 30, 31 having respective slots or apertures 32 for providing an opening through which electrical connections can be made to the receptacle. In FIGURE 1, it will be seen that the receptacle is provided with threads 18 which conform with national standard threads for lampholders. A groove or channel 19 is also provided to receive an electrical terminal that engages or contacts the threads of the lamp that is screwed into the receptacle 10. And, though not shown, a second such electrical terminal is provided in the central interior of the receptacle 10 for engaging or contacting the center or base terminal of the lamp. The two receptacle terminals may be held in any suitable manned and may be of. a known type which locks or holds a wire inserted into the slots or apertures 32 from the back of the receptacle 10.

The projections 20 of the receptacle 10 are solidly and integrally formed with the receptacle 10 and are of relatively hard and rigid material. For the receptacle dimensions mentioned previously, the diameter between the highest points on the two projections lies between 1.265 and 1.275 inches, and the aperture diameter is 1.250 inches. It has been found that the two relatively long slopes 22 inclined at the relatively small angle permit the aperture surface 13 and projection 20 to be forced or snapped into the panel aperture 15, but that the two relatively short slopes 21 inclined at the relatively large angle prevent the receptacle 10 from being withdrawn from the panel aperture 15. In a typical installation of the receptacle 10, the electrical terminals are mounted in or on the receptacle 10. The wires for connection to the receptacle terminals are usually provided through the aperture and may be connected and locked to the terminals by insertion into the receptacle slots or apertures 32. The receptacle 10 with its wires is snapped into the panel aperture 15 by the receptacle back being pushed through the panel aperture 15 from the front until the projections pass through the panel aperture 15 so that the receptacle 10 is held by the shoulder 12 on the front side of the panel 14 and by the steep or front inclines 21 on the back side of the panel 14. The receptacle key 16, of course, fits in the panel keyway 17 to prevent the receptacle 10 from rotating. Thus, the receptacle 10 is of solid and integral construction, can be mass-produced, and can be wired and mounted from one side of its panel. Since the receptacle can be made of a relatively rigid and hard material and still be snapped into a panel, it can be reliably held despite vibration.

FIGURE 4 shows another embodiment of the invention with a receptacle 40 arranged so that it mounts an electrical device, in this case another lamp, at right angles to a panel 41. Also, FIGURE 4 shows a panel aperture 42 and an aperture surface 43 having an elongated shape so that the key 16 and keyway 17 of FIGURE 1 are not necessary to prevent rotation of the receptacle. The receptacle 40 also comprises a shoulder 45 and two oppositely disposed projections 46 (only one of which is visibl in FIGURE 4). The receptacle 40 may have connections made to it in any suitable way and is mounted in the panel 41 as described in connection with FIGURES I, 2, and 3.

It will thus be seen that the invention provides a new and improved receptacle for snap-in mounting in an panel aperture. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications may be made. The receptacle may house or hold various types of electrical devices besides a light bulb and may be connected by other types of terminals. Therefore, while the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A receptacle adapted to be snapped into a panel aperture of predetermined configuration comprising:

(a) a body formed of relatively hard, inflexible, and

rigid insulating material;

(b) said body having an external aperture-conforming surface of said predetermined aperture configuration;

(c) a shoulder positioned around at least a portion of said external surface and extending outwardly therefrom a distance sufiicient to prevent said shoulder from passing through said aperture;

(d) first and second snap-in projections symmetrically positioned on said external surface and spaced from said shoulder, each of said projections having a triangular configuration with the base of said triangular configuration coinciding with said external surface, with one side of said triangular configuration forming a first inclined surface rising from said external surface at a predetermined distance from said shoulder and at a relatively large angle and for a relatively short distance to a vertex, and with the other side of said triangular configuration forming a second included surface sloping from said vertex at a relatively small angle and for a relatively long distance to said external surface; and

(e) said body having means for making electrical connections thereto and for receiving an electrical device.

2. The receptacle defined in claim 1 wherein said first and second inclined surfaces are plane surfaces, and wherein the distance between said projection vertices exceeds the corresponding distance between the edges of said panel aperture.

3. The receptacle defined in claim 2 wherein said predetermined distance is substantially equal to the thickness of said panel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,802,958 8/1957 Curley 339-126 X 2,976,512 3/1961 Vallee 339126 X 2,988,725 6/1961 Vallee 339-126 3,007,599 11/1961 Greasley 339-l28 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,171,784 10/1958 France.

775,739 5/1957 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Quick Mounting Light Receptacle, by W. L. Larrabee, vol. 1, No. 5, February 1959, p. 9.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner. 

